And in the End

At my father’s wake, in May of this year, I was reminded of how lovely a man he was and how at peace he seemed. All of the world’s problems and all of its pain were gone forever. Now all that remained was eternal rest. He legacy became more evident as all who gathered to bid him farewell remembered him as a lovely man who loved without reservations. I was reminded of the Beatles’ tune whose simple words captured much when they sang that, “in the end the love you get is equal to the love you make.”

I believe that I have spent too much time worrying about being successful and about being the center of attention in my professional and personal life. I believe that I did not spend sufficient time loving those about me, whether family or not, with simple gestures and sharing of limited resources. Sometimes an embrace or a call of encouragement or praise would have sufficed.

I believe that I must make more love, give more love and share more love with everyone who is about me daily. This love has to be simple and without compromise and without any expectations of reciprocity. I believe that in the end, when I am laid to rest, that like my dear father, that I will receive the love that is equal to that I am currently making. I truly believe this.

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This week’s essay

Growing up in the former Yugoslavia, lawyer Djenita Pasic enjoyed the peace of her religiously diverse country. But after the fall of communism and the outbreak of the Bosnian War, Pasic was forced to reevaluate her ideas about religion and tolerance. Click here to read her essay.